Horror Unfolded Before Her Very Eyes

As a career Coast Guard Officer, I am big on boating safety. Boating accidents can be just as grisly and fatal as automobile accidents and those who sail or motor should be as prepared and experienced to drive their boat as they are their automobile.

A good example of this is what happened to the husband of a woman who worked with me in Honolulu. Gerri's husband had taken their two grandchildren, ages two and five, out in their motorboat at a protected lagoon on Oahu. As grandma stood on the shore, grandpa and grandkids would go zooming by. Each time they did Gerri would wave and throw kisses to them.

After a few passes, grandpa turned the boat into the channel that led to the open sea. There were several swells coming into the lagoon, most likely from a passing vessel, and he no doubt wanted to give the grandkids a thrill riding up and down the swells. As the boat powered over one of the swells, it took a hard jolt from a second wave and to Gerri's horror, the impact knocked her husband out of the boat.

She was mortified. The boat was heading out the channel, her husband was in the water far behind the boat and her two young grandchildren were alone onboard. If the boat veered to either side of the channel, it would crash into the rock jetties and undoubtedly disintegrate at the speed it was going. If it continued on to the open ocean, it would run into breaking waves must larger than the swells it was now navigating through and surely be capsized

She screamed, but there was no one to hear her or to help. She did not know what to do. All she could do was watch in horror as her grandchildren headed toward almost certain death.

All of a sudden, miraculously, the boat slowed. Then it turned completely around and sped up again. Soon it was alongside her husband and it slowed again. She watched as her husband climbed onboard, took the helm and headed the boat back to shore.

When her husband finally got back to shore, she learned that he had previously taught his five year old grandson how to operate the boat. When grandpa fell in, he simply took over the controls and retrieved him using the skills grandpa had taught him.

This is a true story with a very happy ending thanks to the sea-worthy responsibility of one individual. This and other stories are repeated too many times with less than happy results. Take time to ensure every person onboard knows how to operate the vessel, even the youngsters. It might just save a life.